As part of Expocruz 2025, the Brazilian Consulate in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, and FONPLATA — Development Bank hosted a reception in honor of MERCOSUR on Saturday, September 27.

Held under Brazil’s leadership as Pro Tempore President of MERCOSUR, and with FONPLATA as a strategic partner in regional development and integration, the event invited guests to raise a toast to unity. Countries, sectors, and cultures came together in celebration at the Chiquitano Hall of Expocruz.

Among the distinguished attendees were the Consul General of Brazil in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Américo Dyott Fontenelle, and the Head of Commercial Promotion Sector, Carlos Gonçalves de Oliveira. Representing FONPLATA were Ms. Eliana Dam, Vice President of Operations and Countries, and Ms. Viviana González Bogarín, Vice President of Strategic Development. Also present were Jean Pierre Antelo Dabdoud, President of Expocruz, members of the consular corps, international delegations, business chambers, and other invited guests.

The reception positioned itself as a high-level networking platform and a showcase for MERCOSUR’s recent achievements, including the signing of the Free Trade Agreement between MERCOSUR and the European Free Trade Association. This milestone reaffirms the bloc’s capacity to engage globally with unity and strategic foresight.

Representing MERCOSUR’s subnational governments, Germán Munich, Head of International Affairs for the Government of Santiago del Estero (Argentina), emphasized FONPLATA’s role as a key financial partner in addressing infrastructure and sanitation gaps affecting provincial regions. Whereas Thais Bergamin, from the municipality of Juína (Mato Grosso, Brazil), highlighted opportunities for collaboration to overcome infrastructure deficits in municipalities and praised FONPLATA’s support in project structuring and financing.

Consul General Américo Dyott Fontenelle underscored the synergies generated by FONPLATA across the five MERCOSUR member countries and reflected on the importance of structural convergence in developing infrastructure that links the bloc’s main productive regions.

Closing the event, FONPLATA’s Vice President of Operations and Countries, Eliana Dam, stated: “Supporting this integration event is part of our mandate at FONPLATA. We were born in this region, we understand its realities, and we work to foster development across our member countries. It is also essential to be present at Expocruz — one of the region’s most important trade fairs — which promotes exchange among nations. We extend our congratulations to Santa Cruz and thank the city for being home to FONPLATA’s headquarters for so many years.”

09/29/2025